Obama and his illegal alien family: Guzzardi

View full sizeAP photoThis Aug. 24, 2011 booking photo provided Aug. 30, 2011 by the Framingham Police Department shows Onyango Obama, arrested in Framingham, Mass., for several infractions, including operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. He is the uncle of President Barack Obama.

By JOE GUZZARDI
CAGLE CARTOONS NEWS SYNDICATE

This is a cautionary tale about three of President Obama's family members—the president, his uncle Omar Onyango and his Aunt Zeituni Onyango. To follow the story completely, readers should be current on President Obama's administrative amnesty which he sprung on an unsuspecting and incredulous public just before he departed for Martha's Vineyard.

Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano define his new policy, now in effect, as an ICE evaluation of 300,000 cases involving aliens in deportation proceedings to determine whether they are hardened criminals and therefore a risk to public safety or "low priority" offenders. The latter are released.

At a speech she delivered at the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation and the University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service, Napolitano brazenly summarized the revised immigration guidelines as "common sense" and ones wherein "nobody is getting a free pass."

Furthermore, for Obama to release illegal aliens just weeks before 9/11's tenth anniversary is a callous display of indifference to the victims' families. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, 12 of 48 terrorists involved in the plotting and carrying out of the murderous attacks were illegal aliens. Because of the discreet profile they maintained during the days leading up to 9/11, using the current Obama-Napolitano standards they would have been described as "low priority".

Ditto for Auntie Zeituni. While Zeituni didn't pose a criminal threat, she fraudulently tapped into a social services pool that drained scarce public resources.

First ordered deported in 2004 after overstaying a visa issued in 2000, Zeituni lived in public housing, supposedly available only to citizens and collected $700 in monthly disability checks. But an unidentified benefactor interceded and hired famous immigration lawyer Margaret Wong to represent Zeituni in her efforts to remain. The unsurprising result—a Boston federal judge stayed Zeituni's deportation order. In 2010, Zeituni was granted political asylum and is now a legal U.S. resident.

Only the most optimistic expect a different result from Uncle Omar's case. Like his sister, Omar ignored a previously issued federal deportation order and has been living in the country illegally for several years. Wong will represent Omar.

But getting Omar off may be tough. On August 24 Omar, who had an outstanding warrant, was arrested on for driving his SUV through a stop sign and barely missing a police cruiser. Omar's sobriety test indicated a 0.14 level, nearly twice the maximum. The police charged Omar with driving under the influence, driving to endanger and failing to use his turn signal. Because of his immigration violations, ICE detained Omar.

Under the new immigration rules, into what category will Omar fall: hardened or low priority? Don't forget that the ICE language includes allowances for protecting aliens "with family ties".

Most would argue that Omar, an illegal immigrant, should be deported immediately. While he's not a convicted axe murderer, Omar is a hazard behind the wheel that may kill someone with his car.

Obama, with his eyes on the polls, can be sure the nation will be watching his uncle's case. If Omar is still hanging around in November 2012, there's a good chance Obama may be gone by January 2013.

JOE GUZZARDI

Guzzardi has written editorial columns, mostly about immigration and related social issues, since 1986. He is a Senior Writing Fellow for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) and his columns are syndicated in various U.S. newspapers and websites. Contact him at JoeGuzzardi@CAPSweb.org.